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FLCL

Well, I tried really hard to keep my cool with the idea of FLCL getting a sequel but I completely lost it when Haruko’s face popped up on the screen at the end of this first teaser trailer.

And here’s the Japanese version of the ad that went up with the official website of the project this evening:

Personally, the only bigger moment in my otaku life that the return of this series was when the Evangelion reboot film series was announced back in 2006. 12 new episodes of FLCL was something I never thought would happen and honestly no matter how this new project ultimately turns out it still doesn’t diminish the fact that the original series is a masterpiece of animation & music. My only expectation for this project is that the animators and staff are really allowed to go crazy with their budget and make something that can at least tap into even 15% of the energy of the original. If they can pull that off, we’ll have something fun to watch.

This trailer made me wish all 12 episodes were out right now but until they finally appear in our unworthy universe, I’ll just enjoy a new pillows song and a few seconds of seeing Haruko again.

Now here’s a sentence I never EVER thought I would write: There are more episodes of FLCL on the way. 12 more episodes, to be precise. I’ll let the official press release explain the critical details:

“Adult Swim, a division of Turner, is proud to announce an official sequel to one of the most beloved anime series of all time – FLCL (pronounced Fooly Cooly). Created in 2000, FLCL told the tale of Naota, a 12-year-old boy who met a woman that would forever change his life…whether he liked it or not. 16 years later, Adult Swim and legendary animation studio, Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell), are creating two new six-episode seasons to continue the tale, which will premiere in Adult Swim’s Toonami block. Known for its surprising and unique content with high fan engagement, Adult Swim has been basic cable’s #1 Network in the U.S. with 18-24 and 18-34 year olds for eleven consecutive years. The new season of FLCL adds to Adult Swim’s ever expanding portfolio of original programming.

“The original FLCL is an anime classic and has been a fixture on Adult Swim since we first laid eyes on it,” said Jason DeMarco, senior vice president/creative director, Adult Swim On-Air. “I’m beyond thrilled to be able to produce a sequel with the original creators, for Toonami, where it belongs.”

Back for the new season is FLCL series creator Kazuya Tsurumaki, serving as supervisor with director Katsuyuki Motohiro (Psycho-Pass) and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion). Also joining this season is writer Hideto Iwai (Last Dinner).

Established in 1987, Production I.G has since produced a number of acclaimed feature films and TV shows, and has also partnered with Mamoru Oshii on every one of his animated films since Patlabor: The Movie (1989), thereby earning an international admiration which eventually led to the visionary collaboration with Quentin Tarantino for the animation sequence in his hit, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). They are most known for the Ghost in the Shell franchise, and for the acclaimed animated TV series Psycho-pass and Attack on Titan.”

And here’s the official synopsis of the new story:

“In the new season of FLCL, many years have passed since Naota and Haruhara Haruko shared their adventure together. Meanwhile, the war between the two entities known as Medical Mechanica and Fraternity rages across the galaxy. Enter Hidomi, a young teenaged girl who believes there is nothing amazing to expect from her average life, until one day when a new teacher named Haruko arrives at her school. Soon enough, Medical Mechanica is attacking her town and Hidomi discovers a secret within her that could save everyone, a secret that only Haruko can unlock.

But why did Haruko return to Earth?What happened to her Rickenbacker 4001 she left with Naota?And where did the human-type robot ‘Canti’ go?

All of these questions and more will be answered in the new season of the series, which is set to premiere in late 2017/early 2018 on Adult Swim.”

There were some rumblings last year about how Production I.G had purchased the rights to FLCL from co-producer Gainax and that the new purchase gave Production I.G the options necessary to transform FLCL from a 6-episode spiritual journey into a franchise machine. I had never even considered the possibility of more FLCL until I had heard about the purchase. Fast forward to today and more FLCL isn’t just the ramblings of a tripping high school student but actual reality.

It’s very exciting to hear that Kazuya Tsurumaki and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto are back on the new project but what about all those other animators who made the original series so incredible? and what about The Pillows? One could make the point that FLCL was just a very long music video set to an excellent set of their songs.

It’s hard for me to believe that this is really a thing that is happening and it’s far too soon to cast judgement on whether or not this is a worthy endeavor. I can’t really make the argument that we needed more FLCL but I certainly hope these 12 new episodes are as insane as those first six.

Here we have the box art for Funimation’s upcoming re-release of Studio Gainax’s FLCL on Blu-ray and DVD.

Due out on February 22nd, Funimation actually outdid themselves on putting together a rather snazzy cover for the series. The box art for their home video release of Summer Wars isn’t bad either although they went for a shot of the characters in their computer avatar forms rather than the nice poster character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto did for the Japanese release (who also designed the characters for FLCL as well as drawing the art in the image above).

This is a nice change at least from the atrocious image Funimation picked to use as their cover art for their Blu-ray release of Evangelion 1.11 last year. I wonder how they’ll do on their upcoming release of the sequel 2.22?

A trailer for the series is being shown at various special events and conventions in Japan to largely positive reviews. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find a video of it online yet.

The most exciting announcement for the series so far though was made at a 10th anniversary party for the FLCL OVA series which is that director Kazuya Tsurumaki will be directing and storyboarding an episode of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.

This is awesome news as the director helming Panty & Stocking (Hiroyuki Imaishi) previously worked on Gainax’s Gurren Lagann so the idea of him teaming up again with the FLCL director is totally excellent.

Animation Studio Gainax released their FLCL Blu-ray box set last week in Japan. This limited edition set features all six episodes of the 1999 Original Video Animation series and also includes some new art from character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, such as the box cover above.

The box set is available off of websites such as CD Japan and will set you back $173.61. Now unlike the Blu-ray release of the most recent Evangelion movie, the FLCL box set includes english subtitles. The collection also includes a number of music videos by The Pillows as well as commentary by director Kazuya Tsurumaki and production footage.

Funimation announced several months ago that it would be re-releasing FLCL here in the United States on DVD as well as Blu-ray. No other information pertaining to the release is available at the moment but hopefully Funimation will be just bringing this new edition of the series stateside and not creating some sort of upscale from the old American DVD’s.

So until the American release by Funimation sometime in the future this Japanese edition is looking pretty great.

There was also a little celebration for the Blu-ray release of FLCL which included a talk with the director as well as a screening of the episodes. I’m including a cool sketch by director Kazuya Tsurumaki that was present at the gathering last week.

Yep. This is real. In the June issue of Newtype magazine (released today in Japan) Studio Gainax officially announced their new project. The series will be called ‘Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt’. Indeed! Let that sink in for just a moment. Here is the official synopsis: “The story centers around a teen-celebrity-like blond-haired girl named Panty and a black-haired Goth Loli girl named Stocking. The two are angels sent from the heavens to battle the “Ghosts” on Earth.” (From the Anime News Network).

The new series is best described as being a cross between the Powerpuff Girls and FLCL. The production team for Panty and Stocking’ is full of all the primary people from Gainax’s last original project ‘Gurren Lagann’ from 2007. Hiroyuki Imaishi, the director of Gurren Lagann is also heading this project as well.

As ridiculous as this new series looks and sounds, I’m actually excited about it. It looks very different from anything else that’s being produced at the moment and I have faith in Imaishi and Gainax to create an inventive, zany, and fun work. No word yet on when ‘Panty and Stocking’ will be released or if it will be a television series or OVA, but more news should be forthcoming.

Update: Added a new promo picture. If you look carefully, you can see ‘Garterbelt’ who is a priest with an afro who also gives Panty and Garterbelt their various missions. wow.